Amid the Stone
Chapter 1
Darcy thrust his spear into the water, a moment later bringing up a large fish impaled on the wood. He moved out of the shallow edge of the stream and tossed the fish into the basket, which already held several. He and the other men of his tribe had been fishing all afternoon. Spring was coming soon; he could smell it in the air. Soon there would be plenty for everyone to eat. Their winter stores were growing perilously low. The birds would leave fresh eggs in their nests, and his traps would be full of fresh meat. Then the tender clover would bloom, and the grain would be ripe for grinding.
His stomach rumbled; he was growing hungry. Evening was coming and soon it would be time to eat the day's provender together at the mouth of the tribe's cave. He had spent the morning finishing digging a pit trap and wanted to check it before that, however. He had seen herds of antelope in the area last week and spent three days digging his trap to hopefully snare one. He wanted to check it before darkness fell.
He was about to leave the water when he saw Caroline walk into the stream naked to bathe. He rolled his eyes. Bingley's sister had been trying to entice him to pick her as a mate for several years, ever since she came into her womanhood. He did not find her attractive, and her personality was repulsive to him. She was a sharp-tongued shrew and he had no desire to have her as his mate. Neither did any of the other men in the tribe. That was probably why she still mateless at such an advanced age.
Ignoring her, he picked up his basket of fish and carried it back to the cave, giving it into the hands of one of the women to clean and de-bone for dinner. Then he picked up his spear and made his way to his pit trap, hoping there was an antelope waiting for him within.
He had not even come close before he heard a high-pitched, terrifying noise. It made him start. Was it coming from his pit trap? He jogged forward, only to see pale fingers emerging through the dirt, only to fall back a moment later.
He had not trapped an antelope. He had trapped a person.
He ran forward, wondering which one of his tribe had been stupid enough to fall into his trap. He stopped at the edge and peered down, stunned.
Below him was a young woman, more beautiful than any he had ever seen before. She had pale skin and chestnut brown hair that was filled with curls. But she was wearing the most unusual garments he had ever seen. Instead of a tunic of leather, she was adorned in some kind of blue creation, like the cloudless summer sky. Unlike the leggings that the rest of his tribe wore, the fabric hung down around her legs all the way to her ankles. On her feet as well were unusual coverings.
She looked up and saw him standing above her, and let out another scream. Grunting with displeasure, he jumped down into the trap to silence her. It was dangerous to be making so much noise; she could draw the attention of predatory animals.
"Be quiet, woman!" he said. "I'm not going to hurt you."
She made no answer, just backed away from him, shaking her head, until she was backed up against the dirt wall of the trap. She spoke in a loud, terrified voice, but it was in a tongue he had never heard before. Was she from a tribe far away from here? If so, how did she fall into his trap? She must have wandered away from her people and gotten lost. That was the only thing that made sense. He had never before seen clothes like those she was wearing.
Tiring of her screams and loud, nonsensical words, he put his big hand over her mouth. With his other hand, he reached out to touch her hair. It was beautiful. Long and thick, filled with handing ringlets, and shiny and clean. It even smelled like flowers, which was very odd.
He smiled at the sight of her. Though clearly a grown woman, she was a tiny little thing. The top of her head did not even come up to his chin. She was small and obviously weak. And she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. If she had wandered away from her tribe, it was dangerous for her to be out here at night, and evening was already falling. He decided he would bring her back to the cave. It had been several years since he had become a man, but he had not yet chosen a mate, because none of the available women in the tribe appealed to him. This one appealed to him greatly. And she was clearly too far away from her tribe to ever find her way back. She would be safe at his cave.
She chose that moment to bite down, and he felt the sharp sting of teeth on his hand. He pulled his hand back, greatly displeased, and glared at her. She spoke again, once more nonsense words that he could not understand.
"Do you speak my language, woman? Do you understand me?"
She did not nod, nor respond in his language. Instead, she just looked at him with fear in her eyes. He was sorry to see that, but he would bring her back to his tribe and then she would see she was safe and would not be in danger anymore. And he would take care of her for the rest of his life. He would take her as his mate. He was the strongest male in the tribe and the best hunter. She would be the envy of all the women of his people.
He reached down to grab her by the thighs, then hoisted her up and over the edge of his trap. She squealed, but then fell silent. By the time he had jumped out of the trap after her, he saw her looking about her almost frantically. To the left was a forest of evergreens, to the right the stream that held the best fish. He took her arm gently and tried to lead her forward, but she resisted, digging her heels into the dirt and speaking loudly in her tongue.
"It's all right, I'm just going to take you back to my cave. I'm not going to hurt you."
She didn't understand him. She kept babbling, her voice growing louder and louder until he decided he would just have to force her back to the cave. Once she saw where he was taking her, she would know that she was safe and would calm down. He dragged her forward, and her voice became louder and louder. He could not allow her to make so much noise; it was dangerous. He put his hand over her mouth again, this time careful to close her jaw with his fingers; he did not want to be bitten again.
She glared at him, fuming, but at this point he didn't care. It was about to grow dark and it was perilous to be out in the open at night. He dragged her forward again, but he was getting tired of her continued resistance. He picked her up and dropped her over his shoulder, then strode back toward the cave. She began screaming again, and he slapped her rump lightly to silence her. He was careful not to strike too hard; he did not wish to hurt her.
Finally, she fell silent, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He made his way back to the tribe's cave just as darkness was falling. He could see the light of the fire where the women were cooking dinner. He could smell the fish roasting, and his stomach rumbled. He had forgotten how hungry he was. He wondered if his mate was hungry. If she had been wandering about the valley alone, she must be starving. He could not see from her figure that she was emaciated, however. Indeed, she had many enticing curves.
Georgiana saw him first as he reached the fire. "Brother! Who do you have there?" she asked.
The rest of the tribe turned to look and he carefully lowered his mate to the ground. She looked about her, frantically, appearing terrified. He did not understand it. She should be relieved to be safe again.
"My mate," he told his sister. "I found her in my pit trap. She does not speak our tongue. She must have wandered away from her tribe and gotten lost."
"Your mate?" Caroline shrieked, and he looked over to see Bingley's sister glaring at the newcomer.
"Yes, my mate," he replied.
"But, but – you don't know anything about her! What if she is dangerous?"
Darcy snorted. "This tiny woman, dangerous? Don't be ridiculous."
"She could have a mate already," Caroline reasoned. "She is certainly old enough."
"She is far away from her tribe, and will never find her way back to them. If she had a mate, she'll never see him again."
He could see that Caroline was trying to come up with some other objection, but he was annoyed and had no wish to debate with her, so he ignored her as he led his mate to the fire, and sat down on a large rock next to his friend Bingley, pulling her down to sit beside him. She was looking around her in great astonishment and confusion. He could not understand why. Was her tribe so different from his? It was possible, considering her odd clothing and strange language. How had she wandered so far away from them?
Realizing he would not get answers tonight, not until she learned his language, he leaned forward to get some cooked fish from the fire, and offered it to his mate. She was sure to be hungry. She did not take it from his hand, but rather looked as if she did not know what to do with it. Perhaps she was thirsty rather than hungry. He took out his waterskin which he had made from the stomach of an antelope, but she did not seem to know what to do with that either. Perhaps her tribe stored water in a different away. He unscrewed the cap with a tie of sinew, and drank some himself, so she could see how it was done. He handed her the bottle, and she took it, sniffing. Appearing to accept that it was just water inside, she took a hesitant sip, then handed it back to him.
His tribemates began to ask him questions about her, and he answered them as well as he could. "She must be from some tribe far from here," he told them. "She does not understand me and speaks some strange tongue. And you see how odd her garments are. She is not wearing leggings or even a tunic, and I have no idea what kind of animal she could have gotten the skins from."
The tribe had to be content with that simple explanation. Darcy was growing tired. It had been a long day. He finished his meal quickly, offering some fish to his mate again, but she would not eat it. Figuring she was not hungry, he decided to go to bed. He stood and took her hand, leading her into the cave and to his bed of animal hides. He had the most comfortable bed in the tribe, having the most furs. It kept him warm and toasty during the winter season, and he could see his mate was already shivering as the temperature dropped for the night. Clearly her clothes were not warm enough for this time of year. He wondered yet again where she had come from, and how she had ended up in his pit trap. Deciding he would not figure it out tonight, he pushed her down into his bed of furs and followed her down. She spoke in loud, sharp tones, and tried to get up from his bed, but he took her in his arms and held her against him. She screamed and began struggling, but he did not let her go. It was too dangerous to be outside in the darkness. He held her firm, determined to stop her from hurting herself, but he was getting tired of her noise. The others, who were also settling down to sleep, were clearly getting annoyed too, calling out for quiet.
He slipped a hand over her mouth again to silence her, careful to keep his finger on her jaw so she could not bite him again. She struggled for a little while, but soon grew tired and eventually stilled, exhausted from her efforts. He looked down at her. She was so beautiful. He could not see the color of her eyes in the dark, but he remembered that they were a lovely shade of brown with golden flecks in them.
He then saw tears welling in her eyes, and he removed his hand from her mouth, not wishing to frighten her. "It's all right, I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered, even though he knew she could not understand him. How frightening it must be, to be lost and away from her tribe. Perhaps she missed her previous mate, too, being so far away from him. He ran the tip of his nose up her cheek, stroking her side with his hand, trying to comfort her. But she stiffened at his touch, and began breathing quickly in fear. He did not know how to reassure her.
Having her soft and warm woman's shape pressed against his had a predictable effect on his body, and he was afraid she would feel it and be even more frightened, so he moved his pelvis back so it was not touching her. He would not mate with her until she wanted to be with him. It would give him little satisfaction to have her terror-stricken, crying body beneath this.
She sniffed, and the tears still streamed down her cheeks. He rumbled to her in sympathy. She spoke soft words in her tongue, looking earnestly into his eyes. He settled down to sleep. Hopefully in the morning things would look better for her. Then she would know at last that she was safe.